Princesses,Piercing the Heavens!
by Arrietta von Hartveil
Summary: * Re-writing as of July 5th, 2013- look forward to it!*Two twin sisters are sent underground by their father, the Spiral King Lord Genome, to make sure humans never surpass their boundaries. But what happens when they start to bond with a certain group of heroes? Will they slowly regain their humanity? Read to find out!
1. Prologue: Princess Princess

Hey all, Welcome to my first ever Gurren Lagann fanfic.

Well, at least my first real one. Now it may confuse you to read this because well.. It's the prologue.

And in this prologue, It's like.. a foreshadow.

Enjoy!~

* * *

**Princesses, Piercing the Heavens!**

Chapter One; Prologue.

_Princess, Princess._

I, Arrietta, One of the two infamous "Jiiha Village Twins", have begun to wonder about this world.

Day after day. It was always the same. Experiment after experiment, It didn't really feel like living. The dark slept with us, ate with us, woke with us, and even became us. No matter where we go or what we do,My sister and I just can't seem to find purpose for the life we've been given. But then again, it shouldn't matter. Not in the least bit. After all, We'll never escape this underground prison. Father said so himself. That is, before he buried us, with these humans.

What did we do to deserve this? Where did we come from? What for?

We'd learn that eventually. The hard way.

The same people, everyday. We lived together, we died together. Nothing ever happened. There had been questions about why Aurora and I never seemed to age. We had no idea, either. So we kept to ourselves, never uttering a single word to the humans. Only observing.

And mother, dear, sweet, mother. Although we didn't remember her all that well, she died giving birth to my twin sister Aurora and I. Or so, that's what we have been told. But, you never know. It could be just another lie, to cover up a harsh reality.

The people of that village were so stupid. They actually thought some good would come of trying, and fighting, and..living in that hole!

That was not life, It was hell, on Earth. Only with a beating heart.

Plain and simple.

Everyone's always going on about how wonderful it is to have friends, to love. But then, they maintain the audacity to turn around and hurt those very same people they dared to "love."

I had never needed any one else other than her, my sister. We had always been together, Always will be.

I don't understand why humans, or living beings in general, were brought into this world. That topic has stumped me all this time. Even now, I wonder.

There has got to be a reason.

From the time I was young, even up until now, I have never known what It really feels like to be truly needed. Except being needed by my darling sister. I mean, obviously I was loved, and counted on as a child, but only on the littlest of things. Except, it always felt, fake. The rest, was handed to me on a silver platter. As grateful as I was those few precious years, I have come to long for the feeling that is to be needed.

That was, of course, until Aurora and I stumbled upon a certain blue haired, loud-mouthed young man, who began to amaze us.

We were born to kill. A harsh reality, We now know.

We were created to destroy the very race we had been forced to live with all this time.

But, It's not like we knew that at the time, anyway.

We knew nothing. We only just begun have hope. To have faith.

Little by little, We became human.

Xx

* * *

So what'd ya think? Should I continue it?

Rate and Review!~

Alrighty, Long story short, Arrietta and Aurora are two young fragile girls (It's a bit of a stretch to call them Nia look-alikes.),

Who are forced underground by their father to watch the humans and make sure they never surpass their boundaries. And stay hidden beneath the rock.

That is how it was meant to be.

But of course, life doesn't always go like you plan, and the two dainty twins start to bond with the humans, and "become one of them".

Ja Ne!~


	2. Shut Our Mouths and Obey

Shut Our Mouths and Obey.

"Father."

My sister and I chimed in unison, kneeling formally down on our knees before the dark shadow of a man. Something about him ordering audience with us set me back a little. Since when did Father care what we did? He rarely ever spoke to us, unless he needed something. Yes, that must be it.

All of our childhood up until now has been spent together. Arrietta and Aurora are a package deal. Not sold separately. But, this scared me for some reason. It made me feel uneasy and I suddenly wanted to be anywhere else but here, in front of _him_.

I threw a glance towards Aurora, eyes filled with worry. I tried not to let her see how unsure I was by this, and how much I feared this ordeal might not end in our favor.

Try as I did, she obviously knew. Aurora dropped her lavender hued eyes to the floor beneath us, a wry smile flawed her porcelain face. I reached my hand out to comfort her, and brushed it through thick,silky,mid-back length ringlets of sea foam. Massaging small, quiet circles into her virgin palm, I smiled. This must have calmed her down a little, because she relaxed her back slightly and the pained expression faded on her face.

We stood close together, hands laced within one another's. Squeezing every once in a while.

A deep, powerful voice broke into our much needed moment.

"Arrietta." He motioned for me to come fourth. I immediately dropped Aurora's hand, making mine feel unbearably empty. I hesitated a moment, unsure whether or not I should leave my sister just yet. Not exactly in the mood for conflict, I approached his throne; which was surrounded by beings just like us, who had been stripped of all self control and dignity because they failed to oblige our father's wishes. What was left of it, anyway.

Standing before the man I dared call my father, something came over me that made me feel like fidgeting with my frilled skirt. I could sense Aurora watching me and could almost feel the apprehensive expression she wore. I quickly checked my own, unaware of my appearance.

Once at the foot of His Majesty, I bowed, careful to show respect and please father to the best of my ability.

"Yes Father, how can we be of use to you?"

I almost couldn't recognize my own voice. It was an icy monotone.

Instead of looking straight into those lifeless eyes, my own strayed beyond him to the murky depths of his quarters,focusing dully on a small flame-like light In the distance.

He continued on, fooled by my mock obedience. A scornful smirk crossed his lips at my words. He knew very well I was in no position to oppose him. With a furrowed brow he looked me in the eye predominately, like the eyes of a vulgar creature staring out through a blanket of darkness at it's defenseless pray.

This made me jolt upward a little by instinct. I prayed it went unnoticed.

"I have a certain task I wish for you to accomplish."

I nodded emotionlessly at his introduction, agreeing to whatever selfish whim he had up his sleeve.

A sadistic roaring laughter rang out from beneath the shadows.

Father was enjoying his power a bit too much. No matter, it's not like we had anything to say about it.

Although we were the great princesses of the Teppelin empire, we did not share the name. Father would wait to deem us worthy of such a title once we passed judgment. We knew all too well this was coming, as did for all our other siblings. Even our own mother, who died birthing us.

What we didn't know, was what this 'judgment' might be. And when it would come.

"The humans."

I cocked my head to the side, trying hard not to let curiosity overcome my formality.

"Excuse me, Father," I interrupted, taking a quick glance over my shoulder at Aurora, then back into the dark eyes of the man before me.

Aurora's orbs read of a mixture of confusion and dread. She had figured something I hadn't yet.

This flustered me.

"To whom does this concern? From what I've heard, the h-humans," I struggled to pronounce such a foreign word. "Are hidden somewhere off in a faraway location, am I right?"

This earned a blank look of amusement from my father. For some reason, his expression made me shudder violently. Struggling to regain my noble stature, blood rushed to stain my cheeks out of frustration.

"Arri-san."

I turned on my heels to see who had called my name so formally. Though, I knew all along it was my precious baby sister. What was with the honorifics, though?

"Not humans, spiral _beings_."

It made sense, that humans with powers of the spiral variety were no laughing matter. But why bring this up with us? What could we do about it?

Her eyes took refuge across the room, looking anywhere but in my direction.

"Listen to what father has to say. I don't know what it might be, but I do know it's important."

Her voice was followed by a cold stare. One I had never seen from her before.

She mouthed a soft, sweet, 'good luck—sister.' Her hesitance left me dumbfounded. What did she mean by 'good luck'?

I mouthed a 'good luck to you, too.' She instantly dropped her glance to the floor.

I thought I saw a hint of a diamond tear in her lush eyes. But she blinked it away and the expression stayed the same. A dark, lifeless smile.

I immediately shut my mouth. Obviously, now was not the time to fight back. Especially against one of the strongest spiral beings alive.

A sickeningly taunting string of laughter came from the direction of the Spiral King, our father.

"Your sister is right, you know," the tone of his voice made my back prick up like it was being stuck with a million tiny needles. "What I have for you _is_ rather, how you say, crucial."

There's that _disgusting_ smirk again. His actions made me feel like gagging.

Fighting back my reflexes, I swallowed hard.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what it is you are talking about."

My voice cracked a little, probably because at this point, I had to fight with everything I had not to break down and scream my lungs out. That would not be acceptable. Especially by those of noble stature.

Aurora called my name once again, but this time, I could barely hear her. It was almost as if it wasn't meant to be heard, but to comfort my sister by speaking a familiar name.

What I did hear though, was the clicking of her small heels, clad in rosy pink, approaching from behind me. I reached my hand out, half expecting her to take hold of it.

And she did. Her fragile hand shook in my own, gripping it as tightly as possible. I returned the hold, trying to comfort her without making a scene out of it in front of our father.

The mixture of silence and tension in the air pressed down on my burning lungs.

Finally, father broke the silence.

"I, Lord Genome, the almighty king of the Spiral, condemn you to the ultimate judgment."

Aurora's grip on my hand tightened, if her skin wasn't naturally snowy white, her knuckles would have been.

When he spoke those next few, unimaginable words, I wanted to run. Run far far away from there. And never look back. Hand in hand with Aurora.

Oh,If only I had.


	3. In Order to Achieve, You Must Sacrifice

**In Order to Achieve, You Must Sacrifice.**

"I, Lord Genome, the almighty king of the Spiral, condemn you to withstand the ultimate judgment."

Taking a deep breath in, Aurora and I closed our eyes tightly; as if trying not to let our wayward emotions show.

"I must warn you though, whether or not you survive depends solely on your inner strength and spiral power."

I nodded, urging him on through subtle body language. Aurora stayed quiet, her hand shaking in my own.

His smirk sent a stray shiver down my spine.

By the look on his face, I could tell he had something he wasn't telling us. And, to be honest, it was annoying the living hell out of me.

Suddenly, something within me just burst. I had to know just what he was going on about.

But, even as fired up as I was, I wasn't about to have a tantrum in front of one of the strongest spiral beings alive. No, scratch that, _the_ strongest spiral being alive.

"Please father, _do_ enlighten us with your knowledge."

I tried my absolute hardest to sound hopelessly sweet but the anger that had be dwelling and building up inside of me this whole time was on the tip of my tongue; like venom in the mouth of a threatened viper.

"Indeed."

Lord Genome nodded.

"My original intent was to send the two of you to observe the human race in their progress through evolution, and make sure they never surpass their rightful place in the intergalactic order."

For a second, his grin seemed to have grown, but then faded back to it's usual form in the blink of an eye. It was almost as if it had never really been there to start with.

"However, I'm afraid the conditions have changed, and we will have to start with a whole new approach."

My sister and I subconsciously leaned in, curious as to what father was running his mouth about.

"Have you both heard of such a term as 'Equivalent Exchange'? "

Aurora and I exchanged a confused glance, and then met the eyes of the dark man in front of us, listening intently to what he had to say.

"In order to achieve, one must be willing to sacrifice. That is the number one rule of this world." He took a deep, excruciating breath in.

The suspense sent pin prickles down the back of my legs.

"So in short: to gain power, and the strength needed to withstand such a journey, you both shall choose which one of you will be venturing into the vast world of the humans, and which one will, well, be sacrificed."

"But I know, if it is my own daughters going out to do my business for me, then I have the utmost confidence in you. I know you will succeed no matter what the circumstances may be."

"I say this because, that is how you were designed."

We both nodded. My head felt heavy as though I had lost too much blood. I scanned over my body for any sign of even the smallest scrape, but found nothing.

It was a harsh reality our kind; the children of the king, had to face.

We, All of us, were dolls created to please the spiral and then to be disposed of on a whim when we lost ability. Nothing else.

That is precisely it. The fact that we weren't human would surely be our downfall.

This time, for sure, I saw his sick smile grow. The color in his eyes turned a deep, sadistic crimson. He truly was becoming the stature of a monster. No doubt.

If such an ordeal taught us anything, it was the realization that father had begun to lose it and was no longer the sugar coated prince we pictured him as when we were children.

"Though, since you seem quite eager, I have already made the decision for you. Arrietta, my daughter, you shall be the one to go."

My face flushed, losing all visible color and replacing the crystal-clear line of sight with that of a dense fog.

I felt like I was going to lose consciousness.

Formality didn't matter to me anymore.

"G-Go? Where is that you intend to send me?"

"Earth."

Aurora dropped my hand, staring straight ahead into the eyes of the god-like king.

"Tell me something, father."

She broke the silence, struggle evident in her voice.

"Why, out of all of us, does Arrietta have to go on such a journey? Why should she be forced to choose between Earth and our homeland?"

Father's deep voice channeled in.

"I don't recall making it a 'choice.'"

I shuddered out of utter fear. The thought of them taking her soul from her was at the very least unbearable.

This was it, now or never.

" B-But, Father, you are aware of what would happen to Aurora if I were to travel to another land?" I struggled to find the right words.

"You know very well that in order for me to use my powers," Realizing the situation I was imagining, I quickly changed my mistake.

"For either of us to use or powers, one of us must be sacrificed."

I fought to choke back tears at that last word. It wasn't as If they'd kill her, but she'd be exiled.

It was only natural, even in the animal kingdom, to extract the one that didn't belong.

And, without spiral power, we'd be rendered useless to father, as well.

You see, and forgive for mentioning this now, but, Aurora and I share one heart. One soul, two bodies.

In order for either of us to live on in the spiral way of life, we must either be together at all times, without a large duration of time separated, or,

and this is the more drastic measure, as a last resort we must choose which one of the two of us deserves to absorb the power, and which one must revert back

to the nothingness of an order-happy lifeless doll with no dignity of our own.

The sound of father's ruthless voice broke through the thick fog of thought I had submersed myself in.

"Well, think of this as an advantage. We can't have you worrying too much about the safety of each other when you have such an important task to perform, hm?"

I exhaled, trying to catch my breath. My throat was unbelievably dry. It hurt to breathe, let alone talk.

So I remained silent, for the time being anyway, hand still laced within Aurora's.

His wild smirk made my stomach flip. How could he say such a thing about his own daughters?

Father had always been a real mystery when it came to how he managed his large sum of reoccurring children.

But still, hadn't he the slightest shred of decency?

I honestly couldn't begin to believe the words that had been ringing oh-so-painfully in my ears.

What did father mean by 'choose?'

All I could hear was the shrillness of my sister's pleading cries, and the evil roaring laughter father emitted from time to time.

"N-No." I protested.

Father threw a glance in my direction, intimidation written on his face.

"If one of us goes, we both go."

The tight bundle of stress in the back of my throat made it difficult to speak.

Feeling Aurora's hand lace itself with my own, I swallowed hard, careful to keep my flaky emotions under control.

"No exceptions."

Father just sported his usual vile grin, everything _but_ sympathy shown on his face.

"Do you have any idea what sort of power you are about to sacrifice?"

"Yes." I responded, "I am aware of the consequences regarding my decision."

I blinked away a tear that threatened to escape.

"But..As long as I don't have to sacrifice that which is dearest to me,"

Leaning towards Aurora who's brilliantly green eyes shown with tears, Iplaced my hand softly along her jawline.

She was my life. And no, that's no exaggeration. Without her, I would surely die.

"Then I'll be just fine with what I have." I beamed with relief, smiling into the bright eyes of my sister.

"So be it."

"I expect your departure early tomorrow morning. Go back to your quarters and spend what time you have left resting."

"As you wish, father." We both sounded at the same time, grateful to father's rare act of leniency.

A crystal tear glided down the creamy-white cheek of my sister's delicate silhouette. I tensed, reaching an unsteady hand up to Aurora's face, ridding her of such a troublesome tear with the pad of my thumb.

She smiled, and my heart flew.

And to think, I almost lost her.

xx


	4. Katsu and Kira

Katsu and Kira

As we made our way down the intimidatingly long corridor, my thoughts began to race.

Ever since I was of a responsive age, I have hated the way father always talked using teasing riddles.

Nothing Lord Genome ever said was straight forward. It was as though he enjoyed messing with our feeble minds.

My mind wandered to more important things. Things like what was to come of tomorrow.

What treacherous journey we were about to embark on..and how suspicious this all seemed to feel.

The clicking of our shoed heels faded into the background.

I walked with no expression in my footing. My mind went off again, thinking idly to myself.

Although we are of noble bloodline, My sister and I have never been beyond the castle walls.

It was to be expected that the princesses, of all people, were to be pampered and watched over as much as possible.

Almost as if we were mindless playthings; polished and fawned after, and then placed on the highest pedestal.

Nobody gave a damn what we truly wanted. From the outside, we were perfectly content young women.

But on the inside, we literally felt like we could die, and it wouldn't matter.

Well, at least I felt this way. I could only imagine the way Aurora saw things. But somehow, It seemed like she thought the same way.

"Ne, Arri-neechan." Aurora chimed in my ear, her sweet voice waking me from whatever trance I was in.

"What?"

she fidgeted a little, wrapping a sea foam curl around her pointer finger playfully.

"I..I just wanted to say thank you, for standing up like you did," She stammered, a rosy blush staining her cheeks.

"To father, of all people."

I smiled in relief. So that's what had her so stiff.

"Not a problem. You see, you just have to know when enough is enough!"

I fisted my delicate hands and punched into the air, pretending to be a professional fighter.

She laughed, covering her mouth politely with thin fingertips.

We turned the corner, nearing our rather large quarters.

Pushing the heavy doors open, we were welcomed by our twin maids Katsu and Kira, who, honestly, were just about as identical as they come;

Kira's hair was styled just a bit different than Katsu's,an onyx barrette complimented her red hair wonderfully. She wore a dark black traditional maid's dress,

only the bottom was a bit more poofy than usual. Whereas Katsu sported a somewhat lolita look.

A soft periwinkle pink bow sat atop her curly red tresses. Her knees were covered with long white stockings, tiny ribbons accented the top.

Her dress was easy on the eyes, and matched the bow perfectly. Lacey white trim outlined the silhouette of her innocent dress.

They spoke in unison, almost as if they were some programed, well oiled, machine.

"Welcome, Princesses."

We nodded in response. It was nothing new. Father had had us on surveillance since we were of a very young age.

And as awkward as this sounds, Aurora and I had come to love them. Katsu and Kira were a couple of the few things that kept us feeling alive.

Mind you, they were about the only people we saw on a daily basis. Others just stopped by to pay their respects and kiss father's feet.

It was always the same. Why wouldn't it be? _They_ were all the same.

But Aurora and I, we were different.

Katsu, the slightly more timid twin, broke the silence.

"Your bed clothes have been set out accordingly, and we have arranged for a private bath."

Kira finished, nodding after wards.

"I apologize for the interruption madam, but dinner has been prepared and is waiting for you in the dining hall."

"And accommodations for your trip have been made."

Katsu added, a sad sparkle in her emerald eyes.

Reaching out to weave my hand within Aurora's, I smiled politely.

"I'm sorry. But dinner will not be necessary."

Katsu nodded and Kira channeled in, finishing for her.

"Is something the matter?"

I shook my head, allowing soft lavender tresses to blanket my back.

"I request that we are left alone before tomorrow. We have plenty of things to do, and would like some rest before our journey."

Kira and Katsu nodded simultaneously, and chimed out again.

"As you wish, Milady."

They exited together, leaving nothing but the soft swish of the doors brushing against each other, behind them.

I turned to Aurora, brushing back a misplaced lock, and smiled warmly into her evergreen eyes.

Suddenly, she launched herself at me, pressing her body softly against my slender figure. I could feel her emotions almost as strongly as my own.

Running my hand through her lush hair, I hushed her, allowing my heartbeat to lull her into a calmer state.

This, was going to be a very long night.

xx

The hot steam in the air made the interior of the bath house unusually stuffy. Lifting my lavender ringlets off of my back, a refreshing whisper of air replaced them, sending small droplets of sweat running down the crook of my neck.

It felt positively wonderful, and was a breath of fresh air after such a long, hard, and rather stressful day. Wading my hand through the water; which was a mixture between the perfect warmth, and a little too hot to bathe in, I sighed.

I thought back a few hours, steam clouding my line of sight.

"_Are you aware of the power you're sacrificing?"_

"_Yes."_

I spoke that one word too confidently. Father had always told us how powerless the humans really were, and how sinfully they lived their lives. So, I never thought much of it. And, in order to preserve that which is dearest to me; my darling sister, I had no choice.

Still, a painful pin prick of anxiety found itself to the back of my head. I winced, nudging the water, sending a few lapping waves to the side of the large tub.

A pair of large, emerald orbs watched me. A pained expression was written in them and it made almost impossible to turn away.

My heart ached a little, and I found that I was disappointed in myself for ever thinking that I had made the wrong decision while facing father. Maybe it was the intimidation that practically seethed from the man's eyes that made me stutter in speaking, and make the quickest choice just to get out of the spotlight. Sounds believable...right?

Little did we know, that _one_ day would change our lives forever.

Aurora sat caddy corner of me, and even from where I was sitting, I could tell she was on edge. Something upset her, and she just couldn't relax. Which, I can't really blame her, it's been one hell of a harsh day, that's for sure. A worried look crossed her face, shaping her lips into a pout.

It was beyond all boundaries of child abuse to force your children, even if they aren't of the human race, to make them choose which one of them would die. Tears in their eyes, shaking and conversating in a shallow voice, stuttering as they spoke.

No, that won't be us! We can out stand those odds. We have to.

But for now, I have to comfort her. Let her know I am here for her and would rather die than leave her here in this ball and chain world.

Lifting my hand out of the comforting water, I raised it up to her jawline. Holding it securely, I smiled.

The bewildered expression she wore set me back a little. She looked so fragile, like one small thing could shatter her.

Forcing a smile, I poked her slender nose playfully.

"Oh,Stop it, Auro-chan ~." I toyed in a giggly voice.

She furrowed her brow,obviously thinking deeply about something.

"That face doesn't suit you."

I whined, making a face similar to her own.

"See? "

After a few moments, a delicate smile replaced the once cautious frown. I almost thought I heard her laugh.

My chest tightened yet again.

I don't think.. I can live much longer like this. Not knowing what would come of us tomorrow, nor when we would be left standing alone, with no one because the only that ever cared, ever loved us, was gone.

I suddenly needed to see her porcelain face again. To take a mental picture, and realize how stupid I have been with my thoughts.

"There we go,"

Her emerald hued eyes rose and met my own.

My heart smiled at this, truly smiled. Warmth filling it.

Our snowy complexions reflected in the water.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

A summery blush crossed her face. I giggled, and she dropped her glance out of embarrassment.

Seeing her flustered like this sent my heart soaring into the blue sky.

"It's alright, I was happy to do it, anyway."

"Really?" Disbelief sounded in her voice.

"Delighted."

In our world, the sky always remained a groggy gray. It was rather depressing.

Although, what did it matter to the members of aristocracy? Sending under ranked workers out to do our bidding,we barely ever stepped foot outside as it was.

And, when we did, It was to the minor places like the balcony of our room, and the courtyard surrounding the castle.

A tear ran down her cheek, and almost instantly meshed with the liquid beneath us.

My heart clenched.

I fished around in the water, finding and taking hold of her trembling hand.

She winced a little at this, but then eased into it.

I hushed her yet again.

Whispering into the thick air, my eyes grew wet. Hair hiding them for a moment, just enough for me to force a smile.

"Don't worry, Auro, every thing's going to be fine."

She saw through it, and protested to my calming gesture.

"You don't know that." She scowled, looking anywhere but in my direction.

It's true, I don't know how every thing's going to turn out in the end. I'm not god.

I shook my head slowly and stood up, towel still wrapped gracefully around my figure.

I had to find some way to distract her from the mood she was setting.

After all, this could very well be our last few hours together, and I'd hate to remember them being like this.

"Turn around."

Gripping the sponge I motioned for her to move. She looked up at me, shining confusion in her eyes.

I sighed, moving behind her and brushing her hair to the side with my free hand.

She tensed below me.

"W-What are you doing?" She fussed, wading her hands wryly through the water.

Somehow, and I never fully understood this, she had found comfort in doing so.

"Well, _someone_'s going to have to scrub your back." I teased.

Smiling, I motioned forward, earning a swishing sound from the soapy sponge.

Carefully, the sponge was brushed in all sorts of directions, revealing a snowy white complexion.

I hummed to myself, giggling every once and a while. Then, just as easy as I'd started, I had finished.

It almost hurt, to know..this could be our last bath together.

"There."

She turned around to face me, hair pressed against her satin-like face.

"That's better,right?"

She nodded sweetly, her hair wrapping around her chin like a wet bonnet.

I couldn't help but smirk a little. She blushed out of frustration, but then quickly relaxed.

I turned around, handing her the sponge and shampoo. Confused, she eyed the bottle and washrag worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

A few seconds passed and she finally spoke.

".I..uh..," She stared down at the foreign items in her hands. "Don't know how to do this!"

I smiled yet again, reaching my hands out to take hers.

"Here, I'll show you."

"Thank you, sister!"

She beamed graciously.

"You're welcome."

I messed her hair with my free hand, earning a sweet giggle that gave my heart a painfully tight feeling.

How could I go on living without her?

Xx


	5. Princess' Chamber

**Princess' Chamber.**

The moonlit sky shown brightly above us, spreading it's light like the finest butter through the large windows.

The buzzing of cicadas rang out and slowly relaxed my tense body. A large moon in the sky gleamed confidently, reflecting off the elegant vase that sat on the window pane.

The silk of my night gown fell calmly against my skin. The yellow sheen sparkled a little in the stray light.

I ruffled the frills at the base of the night dress, and yawned.

I lie down in my bed, staring idly up at the canopy, legs curved in, knees up against my sideways chest.

The satin sheets below me felt comforting, but there was a coldness to it.

The door opened with a soft, barely audible,click.

Aurora, clad in a peachy red night gown, approached my bed.

It shifted a little under her weight, but then settled,and despite nature's attempt at distracting me,

the room grew painfully quiet.

Facing away from her, a shaky tear brimmed in my eyes.

I refused to let her see how I was truly feeling and shunned away from her, covering my face with newly washed lavender tresses.

They still had a slight dampness to them, but were dry enough to sleep on.

I heard a muffled sob from behind me, and almost instantly, I knew I had done something horribly wrong to her.

I turned over to my opposite side, and stared hesitantly at my sister.

The pain and desperation in her wet eyes was almost unbearable,and I felt the chains around my heart draw painfully tighter.

And, ultimately, I knew.. this was going to be the longest night of our lives.


	6. The Dreaded Author's Note!

Hey guys!~

Sorry I've been on hiatus for so long, I just haven't really had the time to think, let alone write my stories!

But now, I'm back and anxious to continue writing!

But first...I have to know..

_Should_ I continue it? After all, it has been over a year since my last update..

let me know, alright?

Till then..

Many pardons,

Arrietta von Hartveil. ^ -^


	7. Deep Purple Tea

It's been forever, darlings. c:

hope you haven't strayed too far from me! More coming within hours, promise!

* * *

**Deep Purple Tea**

The morning came faster than either of us could imagine.

I sat up quickly, wiggling my toes under the duvet. The sun shone through the barred window in our room as I took a big breath in. It was most likely the last morning my sister and I would ever live to see in that dreary castle. I spun around on the bed and tucked my feet under me. Glancing down at Aurora who's porcelain face was as innocent as the moon must've been on it's first night.

I stretched my arms above me and let a yawn escape my lips.

"Oh boy, this is going to be _so_ much fun."

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and turned to lift off of the bed.

My bare feet brushed the cold floor and I shivered. As I stood up to glance over the room for one of the last times, a sense of indifference dawned on me. What the hell did it matter that we would never be back here! It's heavensent! I smiled as the sunlight from the windowsill warmed my cheeks. I made my way over to the window that had caught my attention and rapped both of my hands around the metal bars.

Staring up at the gray sky, I came across something I had never really noticed before. The second moon, pride of the Teppelin Empire, was covered in a shell much like a chocolate treat in aluminum foil. You know, the one's from story books. No matter, it didn't have much reason to concern the two of us anymore. I smirked at the thought of leaving this place. It was only hours away.

"Arrietta."

A voice broke my train of thought and I swiftly turned towards the origin of the sound.

Aurora had just woken up and lay slumped over on one arm allowing her head to rest in her hands. The straps of her gown relaxed down her shoulders. I smiled at her teasingly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Look at you! You're the image of a good night's sleep~" I toyed.

She stood slowly,stumbling as she did so. She was graceful to most but in my eyes there was something missing, and that's what made her so special to me.

"Well.. you too!"

she retorted, pointing to my fluffy mess of tresses.

"A total charmer, you are."

"Surely!"

we giggled for a moment or so as we tried to one-up each other in jest. It was times like these I had told myself I could never live without. The joking, the laughing, the bonding. No one outside of our doors, not even Katsu and Kira, would be able to tell it was us from behind closed doors. Fact is, we were far from perfect. We pretended out of the best of our ability to appear formal and blank before the eyes of strangers, though that was never truly us.

A knock rang out from the doorway and we turned with curiosity.

"Breakfast is served."

"We'll be down in a moment." I chimed, attempting to fix my hair with just fingers.

"Errm..well, I'm afraid we've actually brought it to you. Pardon the intrusion."

I blinked at this and decided it was best to open the door and let them in, my growling stomach would thank me later. I walked over to the door and turned the silver handle, opening it to the face of a flustered Katsu.

"Why, hello there." I greeted with my early morning smile. I figured she'd joke about my glamorous hair or maybe my sleepy eyes, but she said nothing beyond that point.

I motioned for Aurora to come eat and she obliged. It was odd though, that Aurora was so stand offish even around Katsu, one of our only friends within the castle. It baffled me, but I paid little mind to it.

"Thank you, Katsu." I grinned again, pushing the cart the rest of the way into our quarters.

"Wait-"

she stopped my hand with a solid grip.

"You don't need to touch anything. Let me do the work."

Katsu hefted the cart into the room with a push and leaned it up against the wall beneath the windowsill.

"Also, we have tea provided this morning for comfort. Well, before your travels."

I tried hard not to gawk at the spread of food before me, my stomach beckoning it with every wiff of air. The tea smelled delicious and I had been wracked by nerves for several hours so I was beyond thankful for the heated beverage.

"Goodness, Katsu. You've truly outdone yourself."

"Right. Glad you think so, ma'am. Farewell!"

and with that, The redhead darted out of the room, disappearing down the corridor in a puff of dust and inaudible words.

Aurora and I feasted on the platter of breakfast fancies that lay before us. Afterwords, I swiftly poured myself a cup of the deep purple tea and hoisted the china to my lips. It's smell was off, as if it had been over boiled or maybe poorly kept. But my throat yearned for it so I leaned over to Aurora and clicked my cup against hers.

"Sister.. that's father's chin-"

I shushed her lips with my finger and said a toast.

"Our journey will be one to pierce the heavens!"

I could tell she couldn't entirely understand what I was getting at and to be honest neither could I but we drank to the occasion none the less. Moments later, sleep devoured my sister and I and the last thing to be heard was china shattering against the tile and the shuffling of feet around us.

What was to happen then was truly a mystery.

A mystery indeed.

* * *

Just a quicky to get me started~ The plot's moving along guys, trust me on this.

toodles~


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